


whelve

by strawberrycreamcheese



Series: Merthur Fics and AUs [2]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Boys In Love, Fluff and Angst, Kissing, M/M, Magic Revealed, Merlin's Magic Revealed (Merlin), Not Beta Read, Uther Pendragon sucks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-31
Updated: 2020-12-31
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:01:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,487
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28438056
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/strawberrycreamcheese/pseuds/strawberrycreamcheese
Summary: Arthur was born with a soulmark. A deep red dragon that sat on the inside of his forearm, outlined in thin, shimmery gold.
Relationships: Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)
Series: Merthur Fics and AUs [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2000911
Comments: 4
Kudos: 232





	1. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> pt 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> changed the title bc i hated the first one so if u noticed that no you didn’t  
> ... ne ways...
> 
> see you at the end i guess.

Arthur was born with a soulmark. A deep red dragon that sat on the inside of his forearm, outlined in thin, shimmery gold.

They were rare, especially around Camelot. One in a million were lucky enough to be born with one.

His father didn’t see it that way. His son was bound to some random person out there? What if they were a peasant? A slave or a servant? His son couldn’t marry someone of that status.

His only option was to scour the land, searching for a noble who bore the same mark as his son.

Once no one of his preferences turned up, he forbade his son from searching for his soulmate.

Not that Arthur minded. He was more interested in knighthood, being the perfect heir; someone his father could be proud of, someone the people of Camelot would be proud to call their prince, and eventually their King.

In fact, his soulmate rarely crossed his mind. He told himself it was the way he liked it. Every once in a while, perhaps while he rested in a warm bath in his dim quarters, his mind would wander to the possibility of his soulmate. Were they tall? Short? Female, or male? Were they even alive?

Sometimes, it took everything he had in him to force the ponderings out of his weary mind.

Nonetheless, he wore his soulmate mark with pride and without shame, despite the unfortunate implications his father believed it held. He liked the connection it gave him to Camelot, bearing the blood-red often worn by the knights.

Arthur was happy with the way things were. He had a good, successful future ahead of him. Loyal knights, a prospering kingdom, and it was likely he'd be marrying another noble soon enough. He was happy.

At least, that was what he convinced himself until a certain someone barrelled into his life.

Arthur's first impression of Merlin was that he was the strangest person he'd ever met. He was clumsy, incompetent, and borderline disrespectful.

At the time, Arthur believed that his father assigning Merlin as his servant to be the worst thing that had happened thus far into his life.

And it annoyed him how much everyone else seemed to like him. It annoyed him how much he liked him. As much as he hated to admit it, Merlin was one of the only people who treated him normally, as if he wasn't a prince, as if they were actual friends. Arthur would ponder what friends were like. Sure, his knights were there. But they were obligated to be there.

Arthur would never say it out loud, but Merlin felt like a friend. He didn't come to Camelot for Arthur, despite ending up as his servant. He wasn't a suck-up, he wasn't afraid to criticize him, and he certainly wasn't afraid to make fun of him.

As time went on, he started appreciating Merlin more. Again, he would _never_ admit it, but it was nice having someone around who was... playful and not afraid to tease him. Merlin gave off a sense of safety, despite how aware Arthur was that Merlin was completely incapable of protecting anyone. 

But he couldn't consider Merlin a friend, despite how Merlin treated him.

He was just a servant.

By far, one of the oddest circumstances Arthur had been in with Merlin was the first time he'd drawn Arthur a bath. Of course, it was bound to be awkward on its own. Merlin wasn't used to servant life yet, and he repeatedly fumbled and tripped as he attempted to complete nearly every task and chore.

_Arthur remembered stepping into the warmed bath, sinking fully in before Merlin turned back to face him._

_The room was silent for a while. Despite how relaxed he was, the negligence on Merlin's part was starting to annoy him. He opened his eyes and turned to see what was taking him so long._

_What he didn't expect was to see Merlin standing stock still, face pale, mouth agape, and blue eyes locked onto Arthur's bare forearm, draped casually over the side of the bath._

_Arthur fidgeted a little, before collecting himself. "What's wrong with you?" He snapped, jolting Merlin out of his stupor._

_"Nothing, sire," he replied, shaking his head before shakily approaching the tub._

_Arthur rolled his eyes as he watched Merlin's dart between Arthur's face and the red dragon stretched across his forearm._

_"I take it you've never seen a soulmark before?" Arthur leaned his head back against the tub and closed his eyes once again._

_Merlin was quiet for a moment, before his voice broke the silence again. "No, sire, I haven't."_

_That was probably the second biggest lie he'd told Arthur so far._

Ever since then, Merlin was... twitchy. Well, he was often twitchy, but even more so. He was quieter. Of course, sometimes he couldn't stop himself from making snarky little comments that made Arthur chuckle under his breath, but he seemed to be stifling himself.

It was concerning. Arthur considered confronting him about it, but decided against it. They weren't friends. Merlin was a servant. Arthur was a prince.

After three weeks of Merlin's odd behaviour, something happened.

Merlin was preparing to leave him be for the night, walking around his room, picking up miscellaneous objects strewn about. He was silent, once again, occasionally eyeing Arthur warily. Arthur ignored him, chalking it up to whatever it was that had been bothering him the past few weeks.

He leaned down to readjust papers across Arthur's desk, and something fell from his neck. A small, shiny red and gold object, hanging from a black cord tied around his neck. It took Arthur a moment to notice, and it took Merlin even longer than that.

"Where'd you get that?" Arthur asked, a teasing edge to his voice. He'd hadn't recognized anything of that quality on Merlin before. He was too far to see the details of it, but by the colour and impeccable shine, it looked high quality.

"Get what?" Merlin asked, puzzled.

Arthur stood and began to walk towards him. As he slowed a bit, taking a closer look at it. Merlin followed his gaze and froze, before attempting to stuff the thing back down his shirt. Arthur grabbed his wrist and pulled him closed.

He rolled his eyes as Merlin thrashed. "Merlin, stop it, let me see," he snapped, falling silent as he examined it. Merlin stilled.

The object fit into the middle of the palm of his hand. It was mostly red, and the shine he could see from across the room was produced by the gold accents. It looked... almost identical to to his mark. The only difference was that it wasn't plastered across someone else's skin. Every line and edge of the dragon was the same. It was eery, seeing this thing that had been a part of him resting in his hand as an object. Arthur's mind seemed both empty and overwhelmed with thoughts as he tried to process what he was looking at. His other hand was still tightly wrapped around Merlin's wrist.

Merlin remained still, eyes searching Arthur's face for any expression that wasn't shock.

He jumped when Arthur spoke, breaking the silence. "What is this?" His voice came out hoarse, quiet, and it shook Merlin to his core. He couldn't gauge what Arthur was thinking.

Merlin didn't answer.

"Merlin?" Arthur sounded desperate, and Merlin wasn't sure what to say to him. His eyes flicked up to meet Merlin's. Merlin cringed, expecting anger. It wasn't there. Arthur's eyes were soft, although confused and nervous.

Merlin reached out and, slowly, gently, pushed the sleeve of Arthur's shirt back, revealing his strong forearm. He shakily rested his hand on it.

Arthur’s demeanor changed within seconds once he managed to come to terms with what he was looking at. The little pendant resting within his palm was unmistakably the same as the design that was painted across his forearm.

He felt angered for a moment, and Merlin noticed. His eyes turned cold and sharp, and his gaze snapped up to bore into Merlin’s own eyes.

“Is this a trick? Did my father put you up to this. Or- or my knights?” He snapped, although he knew what he was asking was illogical. There was no fathomable reason for them to set him up like this.

Merlin’s face screwed up in shock and confusion. “What? Arthur, no!” He tried to pull away for a moment, but Arthur’s grip around his wrist tightened and held him there.

Arthur seemed to crumble again, his grip loosening almost as soon as it tightened. He pulled his hands away completely, allowing the little figurine to once again rest on Merlin’s chest. He roughly dragged his hands down his face.

There was only one reason why Merlin would have anything related to his soul-mark on his person. But he didn’t want to think about it.

The two stood in heavy, uncomfortable silence for a few moments, Merlin’s eyes raking across Arthur’s face all the while trying to figure out what he was thinking.

“Where did you get that?” Arthur managed to rasp our, although he was sure he already knew the answer. In the back of his mind he wondered why the dragon wasn’t also stretched across Merlin’s skin, but this was more important.

“It’s... hard to explain. But I’ve always had it,” Merlin explained, stepping a bit closer. “In a way,” he tacked onto the end.

“You knew this whole time, then?”

Merlin simply nodded.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Arthur asked, looking very much like a kicked puppy at that moment. At least he wasn’t angry anymore.

“I- Arthur... It’s so complicated. There’s so many things to go wrong. You’re father... I mean, you’re a prince. I’m not,” Merlin murmured, voice low and soft.

That silence was back again, but it didn’t last long, especially since Arthur was bubbling with anger once again.

“Who cares what my father thinks,” he snapped, whipping around in anger. He paced for a moment before continuing “Who is he to tell me who my soulmate is. I certainly don’t care that you’re not royalty.”

Merlin froze for a moment, mulling over Arthur’s sharp words. After a few moments he managed to collect his thoughts a bit. “You don’t?”

Turning back to Merlin, Arthur’s face softened. He approached Merlin once again, hesitantly reaching out for him for a moment before pulling back again.

“Of course not. That doesn’t matter to me, you should know that. You’re my best friend, Merlin.”

“Oh.” Merlin averted his eyes, cheeks reddening as Arthur gazed at him intensely. He jumped when Arthur’s warm hand rested on his arm again. Without realizing, he shifted closer to Arthur as well. When he came back to himself, remembering the unfortunate situation they were now involved in, he moved to pull away again, but Arthur stopped him before he could get far. It didn’t take much for Arthur to gently tug him closer again.

”What are we supposed to do, Arthur?” Merlin whispered, eyes downcast once again. Arthur didn’t reply, and simply pulled him closer again. His other hand lifted and cupped the back of Merlin’s head. Merlin glanced up at him in confusion. Arthur didn’t seem to be as concerned about this predicament as he did. “What will your father think about this?” Merlin asked, attempting to bring Arthur back into the conversation at hand. 

“I don’t care,” he murmured in reply. Merlin gaped at him for a moment, trying to formulate a response in his head, but before he could, Arthur spoke again. “Can I kiss you, Merlin?” He asked, the hand that was once on Merlin’s arm moving to rest lightly on his lower back.

Merlin could only nod, distantly scolding himself for allowing Arthur to make him relax this much. 

Merlin’s knees weakened, whole worldview shifting slightly once Arthur’s lips met his. Arthur was soft and warm, and Merlin couldn’t help but melt against him. He’d always heard from those who’d managed to find their soulmates how amazingly different they felt after they’d finally met each other. How much brighter the world seemed. It was always described as an extremely small difference, but very noticeable all the same. Merlin finally knew what they were referring to. 

Merlin hummed softly, without meaning to, before lifting his hand up to rest it on Arthur’s chest. His other gripped the forearm where Arthur’s soul-mark resided.

When they pulled away, Merlin managed to get his mind back on track again, however he was calmer and more clear-minded now. The first thing he had to take care of was...

”Arthur... I have something to tell you. And I don’t think you’re gonna like it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> pt 2 probably wednesday next week. thanks for reading please leave comment, kudos etc (3


	2. Chapter 2

Arthur scrutinized him. It wasn’t an angry or cruel gaze, but it stressed him out nonetheless. Merlin stayed silent for a moment, attempting in his mind to come up with the best plan of action for telling Arthur his biggest secret. 

“What is it, Merlin?” He asked. It was so different from how he would have said it before. Before it would’ve been a snap, or a hiss. Although he knew before that Arthur never meant it. This time it was gentle, and he tugged Merlin a bit closer. 

He continued to make an impromptu little speech in his mind in order for this to go over well. Or, as well as it could go given that he was about to out himself as a magic user. Deep inside, he knew Arthur would never hurt him. He knew Arthur would never turn him in for something like this. Especially now that had discovered that Merlin was his soulmate. But he was still nervous.

“Should we, ah- sit down, maybe?” Merlin stalled, gesturing to Arthur’s bed. Arthur’s eye-roll calmed him down a little. 

“Just tell me. Whatever it is, we’ll figure it out together.”

Merlin sighed. “This isn’t really the kind of thing you just figure out...” 

In an attempt to ease Merlin’s mind, Arthur impulsively yanked Merlin against him, wrapping him tightly in a bear hug. Merlin froze in his arms, and despite just having kissed him a moment ago, he pondered over the idea that perhaps hugging wasn’t something Merlin wanted to do with him. 

“You won’t turn me in, will you?” Merlin asked, trying to adapt a light tone to his voice. Arthur seemed to see right through it, arms tensing slightly around him, but he huffed a laugh anyways for Merlin’s sake. “I have magic,” he muttered into Arthur’s chest as quietly as he could.

Arthur looked at him, confused. “What? I can’t hear you when you talk like that,” he teased. 

“I said, I have magic,” Merlin repeated, saying louder despite how much he didn’t want to say it at all. 

All expression seemed to slip off of Arthur’s face for a moment, before he could tell Arthur’s brain started making sense of things. 

Despite obviously believing him, Arthur seemed to be in denial. “No you don’t. I would’ve known if you did.” 

Much to Merlin’s surprise (and relief) his voice lacked any form of anger or fear. He simply hugged Merlin a bit tighter. 

“I do, Arthur. You know I do,” Merlin snapped, pulling out of Arthur’s arms. He was still scared and nervous, despite Arthur’s apparent indifference to Merlin’s magic. Arthur fell silent, and he had a crestfallen expression strewn across his face as a result of Merlin’s reaction. 

“I know,” he said, after long moments of silence. “Everything’s starting to add up now.” He continued to think about it. How many times Merlin had saved his life, simply blaming it on luck or convenience. How Merlin insisted on going with Arthur on every dangerous mission and quest, despite clearly being physically ill-equipped for any form of battle. All the funny little quirks and events that Merlin was never able to explain to Arthur. 

“... Are you upset? You are, aren’t you. You should be. I lied to you this whole time,” Merlin babbled, backing away from Arthur, and raking his hands down his face. He felt ill all of a sudden, hot and uncomfortable. He felt like he couldn’t breathe. He never should have told him, how could he let himself tell him? Arthur would turn him in, he’d be executed. Beheaded or lit on fire or drowned. 

When two hands gripped his shoulders, he came back to himself. He hadn’t even noticed the tears streaming down his own face until one of Arthur’s warm hands cupped his cheek and swiped at the clear rivulets of tears. Arthur jerked him back against his chest, returning to the same position as before. His arms curled around Merlin’s body once again. 

“It’s alright, Merlin,” he said. He sounded frustrated, but Merlin could tell he was trying to keep his voice gentle. 

Merlin felt like he was breaking when Arthur’s hand came up to cup the side of his head, and Arthur pressed a gentle kiss onto his temple. It was the softest, most tender gesture he’d ever received from anyone, especially Arthur. 

“I would never hurt you. You know I would never hurt you,” Arthur reiterated. Merlin felt himself melting against Arthur again, and had to lean against him for balance. His head hurt so bad, even after just a few moments of crying.

“I’m sorry,” Merlin whispered. Arthur hugged him even tighter than before.

“Never apologize,” Arthur replied. After a moment, he gently tugged Merlin towards his bed, and pushed him to sit down. 

It was a bit more awkward to be hugging in their sitting positions, but neither minded as long as they were still together. Merlin stayed pressed up against Arthur’s warm chest until his crying stopped and he felt stable enough to sit up on his own. Arthur gently kept a hand on Merlin’s back as he sat up. 

“Your father...” Merlin started. 

Arthur shushed him. “He never has to know. He will never know. And when... when I’m king, you won’t have to live like this anymore.”

Merlin stared at him, confused. “What do you mean?”

“In fear, Merlin,” Arthur rolled his eyes at him once again, and Merlin felt one thousand times more at ease again. “I’ll take away all these ridiculous magic laws. Perhaps, magic will even have to be considered commonplace in Camelot. Especially with you around.”

Merlin’s mind felt so full. Pretty much every thought and emotion was racing through his mind at Arthur’s words. Fear, at the idea of being found out, being executed, and anger at Uther for condemning other magic users for something they simply could not control, or did not want to control. He was also so full of warm feelings. Comfort and happiness because Arthur finally knew that he was his soulmate. And he couldn’t help but ponder Arthur’s words about allowing magic to exist freely in Camelot once again. It would be difficult, they both knew, but possible. Propaganda was so ingrained in many of the citizens minds, but Arthur also held a lot of influence and trust within them. Before he could allow himself to worry any longer, Arthur spoke again.

“Why is it that you’re soul-mark isn’t a mark at all?” He said, seemingly out of nowhere. It had been on his mind since he’d first realized what the figure was that Merlin had around his neck. 

“Ah... Well, when I first saw yours, I had to tell Gaius. I just... needed someone to know that my soulmate was here,” he paused, watching Arthur’s expression at being referred to as Merlin’s soulmate. Merlin felt the same way of course. Despite being terrified, it was also exciting and exhilarating. “But he explained that your father wouldn’t be happy. Even if I didn’t have magic, I’m still a servant. He wouldn’t let us be together if he’d discovered my mark. So Gaius found a spell that extracts the soul-mark from the body-“

“Did it hurt?” Arthur questioned, cutting him off. Merlin huffed at the concern and protectiveness on Arthur’s face. 

“A little, but I’m fine. It reverses itself after a few months anyways.” 

They were silent again, but this time it was more comfortable. 

“Where was it? On you, I mean. Your body,” Arthur asked, his face reddening a bit and his tone slightly flustered as he stumbled through his sentence. Merlin laughed fully, this time and it eased Arthur’s mind greatly. 

“My back.” 

“Ah. I can’t wait to see it,” Arthur said, smirking at him. 

It was Merlin’s turn to roll his eyes, and after he did, Arthur grabbed him into a hug again. 

Merlin couldn’t help but laugh, wrapping his arms around Arthur in return. He felt good, for the first time in a long time. He finally had his soulmate in his arms, and he was finally able to tell his best friend his biggest secret. 

Things were good, he supposed.


End file.
